Holding Her, Loving You

Chapter Twenty-Two: Protective Padre

“Feliz cumpleaños,” Belina said as she hugged Alejandro and kissed his cheek, she glanced over at Cesc who was making them some breakfast; it was the little boy’s seventh birthday and the footballer was determined to make it one of the best.

“Mama,” the little boy whined as he pushed her away as she kissed his cheek, the brunette chuckled as she stood up and moved away from her son; Cesc had wanted to know what they did for birthdays since he wanted to be involved as much as possible.

The footballer smiled at his girlfriend as she approached him, they still hadn’t told Alejandro that he was going to be a big brother in a few months’ time; they had wanted to wait for a while until things settled down before they told anyone else.

“You okay?” Cesc asked softly, he was taking everything in his stride when it came to their new pregnancy; he was determined to make up for the mess that he had made when she had been pregnant with Alejandro.

Belina nodded her head as she pressed a kiss to his lips, she was truly amazed what it felt like to have him by her side in this; she glanced back at Alejandro who was opening his presents, the couple had already agreed for his last name to become officially Fàbregas Gomez instead of just Gomez.

“I can’t believe that he’s seven,” Cesc said as he watched Alejandro, he knew that he had a lot to make up for in the seven years that he had missed out on but he was going to change all of that; it was a promise that he had made to Belina as well as himself.

***

“How is the birthday boy?” Gerard asked with a smile on his face, he looked at Alejandro who had come to training with Cesc; the footballer had insisted since he wanted to show off his son and introduce him to the other players for his birthday.

Cesc watched proudly as Alejandro talked with Gerard about all the stuff that he had gotten for his birthday; Lionel stood next to his friend knowing that there was something different about his friend and he had been different for a couple of days now.

“Okay what’s going on?” Lionel asked gently making Cesc glance at him while Gerard moved about introducing Alejandro’s son to the other footballers; Cesc’s eyes never left his son as he meet his team-mates making the argentine laugh softly and shake his head.

“Overprotective padre is clearly a good look on you,” Lionel joked making Cesc chuckle and nod his head, he didn’t want anything happening to his son again; he had let him down once when Joseph had bullied him and broke his arm, but he wasn’t going to allow it to happen again.

Cesc took a deep breath as he carefully traced the tattoo that he had recently had altered, it had originally been a dedication to Daniella but after his break up; he’d had it changed to something that could showcase his love for Alejandro and Lia.

“Bel’s pregnant,” Cesc said softly as he revealed as he looked at Lionel, he had wanted to tell someone for ages about this and he knew that there was still a long way to go yet; he chuckled at the look that Lionel gave him.

Lionel felt a sudden wave of panic run through him as he thought about the last time that Cesc had said those words to him; he looked at his friend wondering what he had done this time.

“Don’t look at me like that… I’m not going anywhere and neither is Bel,” Cesc said with a fond smile as he watched Alejandro, he loved the smile on his son’s face and he knew that he wanted nothing more for it to stay on his face.

Lionel blinked taken back, he was surprised at just how content Cesc looked and he couldn’t remember the last time that he had seen him like this; he was pleased to see that Cesc had finally found what he wanted out of life and who he wanted to spend it with.

“Don’t tell anyone but we’re about five weeks along,” Cesc said knowing that his friend would work out when he had gotten the brunette pregnant; he knew that it wouldn’t take anything away from how he felt when he did, he loved his family and he wouldn’t change it for the world.

Lionel nodded his head, he didn’t want to ruin anything for his friend and he doubted that he ever would be able to if Cesc set his mind to stay with Belina and for them to be a family with their children.

***

Belina let out a sigh of relief as Cesc arrived home with Alejandro, she glanced at the man sat in a suit in their living room knowing that her boyfriend was going to be far from pleased that he was here.

“What is he doing here?” Cesc asked as he stopped walking and looked at the man that was sat smugly on the couch; Belina looked at him knowing that he wasn’t happy and she didn’t blame him, if she could have kicked Pedro López out of the apartment then she would have but he refused to leave.

“Hola to you too Francesc,” Pedro said smugly, he had been thrilled when Veronica had given him the address where Belina was now living with her son and the footballer; he knew that Cesc didn’t like him and the feeling was more than mutual.

Belina moved closer to her boyfriend as Alejandro hide behind his father, he didn’t like Pedro and he knew that if he was here then there was going to be trouble.

“He’s refusing to leave,” Belina murmured as she glanced over at the man that her parents had chosen for her; she didn’t know why he was in her home but she knew that it was because of her mother.

“Alex why don’t you go to your room?” Cesc said as he glared at Pedro, he didn’t like the way that the other man was looking at his girlfriend and son; he knew that he was here to cause trouble and nothing more.

Alejandro quickly hurried out of the room as his parents turned their full attentions to the lawyer that was sat watching them; Cesc gritted his teeth as he wrapped an arm around Belina and held her close.

“You know when your madre said you were back together I thought she was joking,” Pedro said disgusted that he still hadn’t had a chance with the brunette, he didn’t know what she saw in Cesc and he didn’t understand why she kept going back to him; the footballer frowned at the man across the room knowing that he wanted him out.

“What is it you want Pedro?” Cesc asked as he held his pregnant girlfriend close to him, he didn’t want the lawyer anywhere near her; he wanted his family safe and he didn’t like the smile that was on Pedro’s face and he was here for a reason.

“I want what you have… how much will it cost for you to walk out that door and never come back?” Pedro asked making Belina stare at him shocked that he could think about her like that; she wasn’t some object that could be bought and she wasn’t ever going to be.

“Vete a la mierda,” Cesc spat furiously as he nudged Belina towards their bedroom, he stepped closer to the lawyer knowing that he would never do such a thing; not after getting Belina back, he loved her and he wasn’t about to mess things up again no matter what anyone thought.